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University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston

Long-Term Survival In Metastatic Melanoma Patients With Leptomeningeal Disease Treated With Intrathecal Interleukin-2

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

<p><strong>BACKGROUND:</strong> Metastatic melanoma patients with leptomeningeal disease (LMD) have an extremely poor prognosis and a paucity of effective treatment options. We assessed the safety and efficacy of intrathecal interleukin-2 (IT IL-2) in metastatic melanoma patients with LMD.</p> <p><strong>METHODS:</strong> We reviewed the outcomes of 43 consecutive metastatic melanoma patients with LMD who were treated with IT IL-2 from 2006 to 2014 in a Compassionate Investigational New Drug Study. All patients had evidence of LMD based on cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) cytology, radiology, and/or surgical pathology. IL-2 at a dose of 1.2 mIU was administered intrathecally via Ommaya reservoir up to 5 times per week in the inpatient setting for 4 weeks; patients with good tolerance and clinical benefit received maintenance IT IL-2 every 1 to 3 months thereafter.</p> <p><strong>RESULTS:</strong> The median age of the patients was 46.7 years (range 18-71); 32 (74%) were male; 31 (72%) had positive CSF cytology, and 39 (91%) had radiographic evidence of LMD. Median overall survival (OS) from initiation of IT IL-2 was 7.8 months (range, 4.7-16.3 months), with 1-, 2-, and 5-year OS rates of 36%, 26%, and 13%. The presence of neurological symptoms (HR 2.1, p=0.03), positive baseline CSF cytology (HR 4.1, p=0.001) and concomitant use of targeted therapy (HR 3.0, p=0.02) were associated with shorter OS on univariate analysis. All patients developed symptoms due to increased intracranial pressure. There were no treatment-related deaths.</p> <p><strong>CONCLUSION:</strong> IT IL-2 treatment is safe and achieves long-term survival in a subset of metastatic melanoma patients with LMD.</p>

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
Masters of Science (MS)
Level thesis:degree_level
Thesis (MS)
Year dc:date.available
2016

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Glitza Oliva, Isabella C
Contributors dc:contributor
  • Patrick Hwu
  • Michael A. Davies
  • Robert Bast

Subjects

dc:subject × 5

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu:utgsbs_dissertations-1760

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
Base URL
digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu/do/oai/
Last updated
2026-07-24
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

Glitza Oliva, Isabella C. Long-Term Survival In Metastatic Melanoma Patients With Leptomeningeal Disease Treated With Intrathecal Interleukin-2. Thesis (MS) thesis, 2016. https://digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu/utgsbs_dissertations/716